If you’ve received funding through the NDIS, it’s time to activate all that this resource has to offer. As a participant, NDIS plan management services are available to you. This is a factor that could help you to maximize the funding that is included with your plan.
NDIS plan management is an accompaniment to your NDIS plan that has an element of self-choice regarding how involved you’d like to be regarding administration of your plan details.
Take a look at what there is to know about selecting a management option.
What Is the NDIS?
Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is a federally funded support agency that provides no-cost services to roughly 500,000 Australians each year.
Anyone under the age of 65 who is living with a permanent and significant disability is eligible for NDIS support that is delivered through NDIS plan management.
The NDIS is able to provide participants with information and connections to crucial, life-impacting services within their communities. This can include doctors, support groups, schools and sports clubs.
Additionally, participants are able to access information regarding specific support services that are available by state and territory.
If you are becoming a participant in the NDIS, choosing a method for NDIS plan management is one of the most important first steps to take.
While the same services are available for all types of managed plans, you do have freedom regarding what your plan management looks like.
Let’s cover everything there is to know about NDIS plan management!
How Is an NDIS Plan Managed?
When talking about NDIS plan management, we’re really discussing how you’d like your specific eligible funding to be managed. As an enrolled NDIS participant, have four options to choose from.
Here’s a breakdown:
- Self-Management: This option allows you to independently access support options that are suited to your goals.
- Plan-Managed Funding: With this option, the NDIA is providing funding toward your plan to cover the fee for a designated Plan Manager. We’ll cover the role of a plan manager in detail in just a bit!
- NDIA/Agency-Managed Funding: The NDIA will allocate payments to your providers on your behalf if you select this option.
- Mixed Management: If you prefer, you can combine management options. Under this type of arrangement, you might have one aspect of your NDIS budget managed by a Plan Manager while managing the rest on your own.
As you can see, the NDIS is quite flexible when it comes to giving you the ability to determine how you’d like to manage your plan. This is very representative of the overall flexibility and support provided by this program.
While choosing your management style is a matter of personal preference, there are some benefits to know about when pursuing different NDIS plan management options.
When you enroll in the NDIS, the ECEI Coordinator, LAC or NDIA planner assigned to you will want to know which management strategy you’d like to utilize during your benefits planning meeting.
This can be a great time to ask questions regarding the best option for you based on the specifics if your plan.
However, it’s also quite beneficial to walk into the situation with an idea of which option you’d like to pursue based on your personals circumstances and preferences.
See also: For more information on NDIS plans and how they work, check out NDIS Plans Explained here.
See also: For more information on the best way to manage your plan, check out NDIS Plans: Self Managed vs Plan Managed here.
What Does a Plan Manager Do?
As mentioned earlier, a Plan Manager is utilized when you select the option for plan-managed funding. A Plan Manager should really be thought of as an asset who can help you to access the most from your plan.
Far from trying to make you dependent on their services, Plan Managers actually work to help participants understand how to self-manage their plans. They also work hard to help increase your choice of providers by carefully studying your plan.
Here’s a look at the services carried out by plan managers on your behalf:
- Help you budget and track your plan funds.
- Receive your invoices.
- Pay providers on your behalf.
- Complete and submit claims on your behalf through the NDIS portal.
- Handle your financial reporting.
- Work with you to select and coordinate providers based on what your plan provides.
Many new participants who select self-managed plans may not fully understand all of the task management and organization that go into NDIS plan management.
When you choose a Plan Manager, you are handing over some of the more complex administrative tasks for someone else to handle! Ultimately, this can help you to maximize services and complete quick claims turnaround times.
See also: Interested in starting a career in NDIS Plan Management? Check out How to Become an NDIS Plan Manager here.
Why Use a Plan Manager?
Once you familiarize yourself with your NDIS plan, you’ll see that you have many choices and options to consider in regards to your experience.
A Plan Manager can play vital assistant, asset and advocate roles for you by simply helping you to access the right information for making the best decisions.
Here’s a rundown of the top reasons to select a plan-managed funding option:
- You’re interested in having more choice over your providers by avoiding the non-registered-provider restrictions that are in place when you select the NDIS/agency-managed option.
- You’d like to negotiate pricing to free up more budget funds.
- You feel overwhelmed by handling all of the administrative tasks of managing your own plan.
- You don’t want to be confined to only using the NDIS myplace portal for plan management because you’re not fully comfortable managing affairs and finances online/on a computer.
At the end of the day, a Plan Manager can give an NDIS participant confidence that they are handling details like provider meetings and claims properly.
Participants also get the peace of mind of collaborating with someone who is well-versed in NDIS specifics to negotiate pricing and broaden provider options.
Ultimately, a plan-managed funding option provides the “best of both worlds” because you’re able to avoid some of the boxed-in features of using an NDIS/agency-managed plan without taking on the full burden of managing all of the administrative tasks of your plan.
Is Plan Management Funded by the NDIS?
Yes, the plan management strategy that you choose will be funded as part of your plan!
This is just one more reason why NDIS participants really do have everything to gain by selecting a plan-managed option. This is a free service that can ultimately give you a better value for your NDIS-provided budget.
Where to Find Plan Management Providers?
If you’re ready to find an NDIS plan management provider to help with your plan-managed plan, you can find and compare local plan management providers by having a browse through our NDIS Plan Management category page here.
Related article: Looking for more information on NDIS Support Coordination? Check out NDIS Support Coordination Explained here.
Related article: Looking for NDIS Plan Management Software? Check out Best NDIS Plan Management Software Options (2022) here.